The High Calling of a Servant

“Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters, according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;”…”And ye masters, do the same things unto them, forebearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with Him.”  Ephesians 6:5,9

I don’t have any relatives, friends, or acquaintances who have servants in their homes.  I have known some to have ladies come in and clean their houses every week or every other week, but not anyone who has 24-hour servants at their beck and call.  However, we are all servants in one way or another, particularly as employees to our employers.  Anyone who does any type of work for another “serves” that individual.  Policemen and firemen are called public servants.  So are politicians, but many of them act like their constituents are their servants and not the other way around.  In Paul’s day, it was common for the more affluent citizens of Israel and surrounding nations to employ servants.  Besides farming, fishing, and merchandising, the position of servant was a main source of livelihood for many.  Higher education was not available to the poor, thus manual labor was the only way to survive.  However, we can’t do without those willing to work with their hands and their backs because their work is vital to our economy and welfare.  Everyone can’t be a computer expert or a consultant.  All jobs are important to the Lord.

Paul spoke to servants who were believers in Christ.  It was incumbent upon them to serve their earthly masters with a faithful duty because their chief Master was Christ to whom they were to give all honor and glory.  Jesus expects wholehearted devotion, and He will have nothing less for those who serve others.  The spiritual service belongs to Him, and the physical service to earthly masters is an extension of that service.  John wrote in I John 4:20 that one who says that he loves God but hates his brother is a liar.  Since he sees his brother and hates him, how can he say that he loves God even though he hasn’t seen Him?  The same principle applies to the servant.  How can he loyally serve Christ whom he hasn’t seen and cheat and disparage his boss whom he has seen?  I realize that some bosses can be nearly intolerable, but if one has a problem with his boss, there are plenty of other jobs available in this day and age.

James 3:8-12 tells us that one whose mouth curses and blesses at the same time is missing the boat.  No true believer can obey Christ and disobey his earthly master.  If anything, a believer should be consistent in his service to Christ and to others.  Don’t be a phony, pretending to be a faithful servant in order to please one’s superiors, but inwardly cursing and complaining about one’s duties.  If the one for whom you work is not a believer, then don’t expect him or her to act like he or she is a follower of Christ.  I don’t know why we always become astonished when sinners sin.  It is their nature.  Only the blood of Christ applied to the hearts of men and women can influence them to live as Christ would have them to.  It’s too bad that even some believers act like unbelievers especially if they are employers or managers.  Do not shirk responsibilities and duties when the master isn’t looking.  Don’t be like the servant in Matthew 24:48-51 who took advantage of his master’s absence and beat his fellow servants and then caroused with the drunkards.  God is never absent.

Our chief Master is the Lord Jesus Christ.  It is unto Him that all of our service is rendered whether or not our earthly masters or bosses are kind and fair or rather harsh and judgmental.  We are not judged on their actions, but only on our own.  We have to be careful that the bad behavior by our bosses doesn’t influence us to become cynical or to not do our job as we should.  We must remember that Jesus is our ultimate “Boss”, and He will always do what is right.  Sometimes we get the mistaken idea that those who are the masters, the “higher-ups”, the authorities, and the professionals who work hard and are honest will receive the greater rewards than those who clean the toilets, pick up the trash, or other less “glamourous” work.  But that’s not how it works in God’s economy.  He doesn’t care as much about the type of service someone does as much as He cares about attitude, motive, and obedience.  No job is unimportant to the Lord.  It takes all kinds of service to keep this planet running just like it takes various talents, abilities, and gifts to prosper the body of Christ.  Rewards are based on what folks have done for Christ, the works and the motive behind the works.  It doesn’t matter if the believer is the pastor of a mega-church or the one who cleans the church, they both will receive rewards commensurate with their obedience to the Lord.

The relationship between masters and servants/employers and employees is a two-way street.  All are urged to represent Christ well in their service to those to whom they are under authority, but likewise are the masters and employers urged to oversee those under them with respect, humility, and understanding.  In the eyes of Christ, there is no partiality when it comes to the social/economic status of believers.  Wealth has no bearing on a person’s state before Christ unlike the world which gives preference to those who have money in abundance.  Employees and servants are accountable, but so are masters and bosses accountable to the Lord, some even more so considering their responsibilities as leaders.  The rewards to believers will be based on their obedient service to Christ.  Unbelievers will be judged first on their rejection of Christ and then punished according to their works.  No one will escape scrutiny.